


midnight fishing

by spontaneoushazel



Category: Rune Factory (Video Games)
Genre: Bonding, Other, This is NOT a shipping fic THIS IS SIBLING BONDING, i repeat this is NOT a romantic work, smh BYE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-20 00:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14248683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spontaneoushazel/pseuds/spontaneoushazel
Summary: What do you do when your sister wants to go midnight fishing? You go with her, of course.





	midnight fishing

**Author's Note:**

> for my discord servers spring event! @eri u the best.

The soft creaky sounds of footsteps on old, worn wooden planks outside Carlos’ room stirred him from his sleep immediately.

 

An intruder?

 

His first thought was, of course, his dear beloved sister sleeping soundly, innocently in her bed. Just the mere thought of an intruder in his home posing a threat to his baby sis, the bait to his hook, the line to his fishing rod, filled him the fury.

 

And of course, Carlos handled this possible breaking and entering with the utmost care and stealth.

 

He swung his door open with his trusty rod in hand like a sword. “CARLOS IS ABOUT TO REEL YOU IN, YOU SCOUNDREL!”

 

The shock on his face mirrored his sisters as they locked eyes. She had her own fishing rod in one hand, and a bucket of bait in the other.

 

She dropped the bucket.

 

“Brother!” she shouted, “What a surprise!” Laughing nervously, she glanced over at the clock on the wall. It didn't go unnoticed.

 

Neither did her red cheeks and slightly annoyed tone.

 

“Dearest Sister! Care to explain to your big brother what you are doing up and about at this time of night? Do not tell me you were planning on running away!” He could feel the tears coming. He always did have a flair for the dramatic.

 

She gasped, placing her hand on her heart. (After all, Carlos isn't the only dramatic one in that family.) “Of course not! I was....” she looked down at her bucket, defeated. “...going for a midnight fishing session. By myself. Alone. In secret.”

 

A memory popped into his head. He tried to shake it away. It was just a coincidence. At the mention of fishing, Carlos felt his biceps tighten in excitement, even if there was a part of him that would not let him dismiss the date on the calendar.

 

Whatever. It was not important. He would never pass up an opportunity to fish with his sis.

 

“Of course, my brilliant sister! The fish will never see it coming! I’ll join you for this historic night of fishing!” Carlos said with a smile, too wrapped up in his visions of pure, intense night time fishing to notice the disappointed look quickly cross across his sisters face.

 

It didn't take long for the siblings to get situated at the dock and cast their lines. The moon's reflection on the water made the big brother smile. “Two moons! Just like the two of us.This is a good sign, little sister!” He pumped his fist in the air. “Maybe tonight is the night we finally catch the mighty King Fish! There are all sorts of new possibilities to discover under the midnight sky!”

 

Carmen laughed beside him, but there was something off about it. But in a blink she was smiling genuinely, as if the thought of catching their scaly nemesis cleared her of any uneasiness.

 

“Ha! That King Fish will never know what hit him!” she boasted.

 

Carlos grinned, closing his eyes and letting the fresh warm air hit his face. It was early spring, and the weather was finally starting to warm up. Perfect for fishing, which meant it was perfect for Carlos.

 

They were fishing for a long time before anything else was said. It was unusual for either of them to be so quiet.

 

He knew his reasons, but what about her?

 

“Brother?” Carmen finally spoke, voice low.

 

“Yeah, little sis?”

 

Carmen looked up at the sky and hesitated for a moment, before blurting the words out almost too fast too understand. “Why didn’t you tell me today was moms birthday?”

 

Carlos sucked in a breath. Wow, okay, he was not expecting that.

 

Would she believe him if he claimed he’d forgotten?

 

No. His sister was much too clever.

 

“Sheesh, Carm. That question is heavier than the two hundred pound tuna I caught last week.”

 

She squinted her eyes. “I'm serious, Carlos. I found her journal hidden on the bait shelf.”

 

Dang, he probably should have hidden it somewhere else. Then again, he probably shouldn't have hidden it in the first place.

 

At least everything was starting to make sense now. The sneaking out. The midnight fishing.

 

He sighed. If only the King Fish would appear so he could get out of this conversation. But the water was still and Carmen was staring at him, tapping her foot. “Well?”

 

He dragged his hands through his hair and tried to find the words.“You know... she took me out herewith her one year, on this very dock. It was the year before she...you know.” Neither of them talked about the sudden disappearance of their mom much. But it was something that always had weighed heavily on them. “She told me how she never told anyone about her secret midnight catching, even dad! But since I was her son, her blood, she let me in on her little birthday tradition.” His voice wavered, caught on the memory. To this day he didn't know if it was a happy memory that made him sad or a sad memory that made him happy. Maybe it was both. “I guess after she left, it really bugged me, you know? I never forgave her, and I could never bring myself to come out here on her birthday and continue it.”

 

By the time he finished, he wasn't looking at her anymore, and she wasn't looking at him either. Carlos always knew if he told her about the tradition, or if she found the journal, she’d want to start it up again. And in a fit of selfishness, he decided to keep it to himself. Who knows, maybe he even liked being the only one who knew.  He hoped Carmen would forgive him.

 

“You know,” she whispered, “I don’t really have any memories of her. Maybe that's why I was so excited to do this. I guess I wanted to feel closer to her.”

 

Yeah, Carlos definitely felt bad now. “You look just like her,” he told her, “Maybe that's why I’m always worried you’ll go fishing and never come back. Because you remind me so much of her.”  

 

It was a joke, mostly.

 

Still, when she grabbed his arm and said, “even if the King Fish drags me miles from here, I’ll always come back,” he felt tears forming in his eyes.

 

He tried to laugh them off. “As if the King Fish stands a chance against my sister!”

 

“You're the one who gives me strength, brother!”

 

And for the first time since their mom left, he couldn't think of anything more perfect than midnight fishing.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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